Apparatus for centering shoe soles and the like



July 6, 1943. L H. FUNK 2,323,809

APPARATUS FOR CENTERI'NG SHOE SOLES AND THE LIKE Filed March 2, 1942vacute when the soles are of varying sizes.

Patented July 6, 1943 ICE APPARATUS FOR CENTERING SHOE SOLES AND THELIKE John H. Flink, Watertown, Mass., assigner to The B. F.' GoodrichCompany, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application March 2, 1942, Serial No. 432,973

10 Claims. (Cl. 1.2-40) This invention relates to apparatus for posi--tioning or locating articles with reference to a given area of asupporting platform, as for centering articles preparatory to adie-stamping operation orthe like, and is especially adapted forlocating in succession a number of articles varying either in size or inshape or in both size and shape. The invention is designed particularlyfor centering shoe soles of varying sizes and congurations preparatoryto stamping them with a die.

In my copending application, Serial No. 426,- 737, led January 14, 1942,I have described how a middle sole for a so-called platform type sandalor slipper may be given increased ileXibility by stamping the ball andtoe portion of the sole with a die of a particular design in order torearrange the surface fibers, or similar materials of construction, in aparticular and predetermined manner. In quantity production operationsit is difcult to center successive middle soles accurately on thesupport member prior to stamping them with the die, and this difficultyis particularly Accordingly, I have invented an apparatus for centeringthe middle soles, no matter what their size and configuration,preparatory to stamping them with the die so that the die will strikeevery sole in the same relative region. 'Ihis apparatus may also be usedwith other objects for locating them in the same position relative to agiven area of a supporting member, preferably preparatory to acting uponthem by an outside agency.

The apparatus of this invention, as exemplied by a preferred embodiment,comprises a pai-i1 of locating members movably supported by a surfacemember for movement toward and away fromv each other, means for normallyholding said locating members in close relation to each other,

and a third locating member movable with relation to said supportingsurface member and adapted to be positioned in respect to saidsupporting surface member by an article inserted between the firstlocating members, and means controlled by movement of said pair oflocating members for determining the position of said third locatingmember when the article is inserted between the said pair of locatingmembers. This apparatus is so constructed and arranged that an articleinserted between the pair of locating members is stopped by the thirdlocating member, whose position is determined by the position of thepair of locating members, so that each successive article inserted isalways in the same relative position with respect to a given area of thesurface member. Through the use of this apparatus, it is possible for anoutside instrument such as a die acting on the inserted articles tocontact successive articles in the same relative region.

As stated hereinabove the apparatus of'this invention is particularlyuseful for positioning middle soles of shoes preparatory to stampingsuch soles with a die. This embodiment will be described herein inconsiderable detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, of whichFig. 1 is a plan View of the apparatus in a preferred form with portionsbroken away for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top view of a iinished middle sole which has been insertedin the apparatus of this invention and has been acted upon by a groovingdie.

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention, the apparatus consistsof a rectangular base member III and a similarly shaped rectangular topmember II held in spaced relationship with the base member I6 by meansof a spacer member I2 placed between them at the rear of the apparatus.In and on the top member II are three interacting positioning memberscomprising two studs I3, I3 extending through slots I4, I4 in the topmember, and a back stop bar I5 resting 0n the top member II arranged sothat it can slide on the top member II. One of the studs I3 is mountedon an arm 33 of a substantially right-angled bell crank I6 and the otherstud I3 is mounted on an arm I'I of another similarly shaped bell crankI8. These bell cranks IB, I8 are pivotally mounted by means of fulcrumpins I9, I9 at opposite corners of the base member Ill at the front ofthe apparatus. The arms 20, 2l of the bell cranks I, I8 which do notcontain the studs are arranged in superposed relationship on the edge ofthe base member at the front of the apparatus. For equalizing movementof the two bell cranks, the lower arm 2i is provided with a pin 22extending upward through an oval slot 23 in the top bell crank arm 2li,this pin and slot arrangement being located in line with the center ofthe apparatus. At the end of each of the superposed arms 2i), 2l of thebell cranks I6, I8 are connecting bars 24, 24 pivotally fastened bymeans of bolts 25, 25 and Cotter pins 26, 26. These bars 2d, 2li extendalong each side of the base member I9 substantially parallel to thesides of the base member and toward the rear of the apparatus. The backstop bar I5, which comprises the third locating member, is pivotallyfastened across the ends of these connecting lbars 24, 24 by means ofbolts 21 and cotter pins 28. In order that the studs I3, I3 comprisingthe pair of locating members will be held in close contact with the shoesole 29 inserted between them, there is provided a spring 30 connectingthe arms 33, I'I' of the two bell cranks I6, I8.

In the case of apparatus for centering shoe soles, the bell cranks andlinkage arms are proportioned and arranged so that the distance moved bythe back stop bar I 5 varies with respect to the distance moved by thetwo studs I3, I3 in the same ratio as the ratio which the length of thesole bears to its width.

In using the apparatus of this invention for centeringT middle soles ofshoes, the apparatus is positioned on the platform of a conventional'die-press. A sole 29 is inserted between the movable studs I3, I3 andpushed back until progress is stopped by the back stop bar I 5. The

grooving die 32 of the die-press is then lowered to press the design inthe sole, the die is raised, the sole withdrawn, and a new sole is theninserted. This series of operations is continued until every sole ismarked and because of the construction oi the apparatus herein describedeach sole is marked in the same relative region no matter what thevariation in the size or the shape of the individual soles.

The spring 36 connecting the arms 33, II of the bell cranks I6, I8 holdsthe studs I3, I3 in close proximity to each other. When a shoe sole, .orother object, is inserted between the studs I3, I3 these studs areforced apart. The bell cranks I6, I8 move on the fulcrum pins I9, I9causing the arms Z, El of the bell cranks to move back. This backwardmovement of the arms 2o, 2I also moves the back stop bar back by actingon the bar through the connecting bars 2li, 2li. The arms 20, 2l arekept in alignment and their movement equalized by means of the pin 22and slot 23 arrangement in the arms 20, ZI. Because the back stop bar l5works in conjunction with the studs I3, I3 the greater the distancebetween the studs I3, I3 the farther the bar I5 will be moved backthereby providing greater space for larger objects and, conversely,smaller space for smaller objects. As the linkage means between thestuds and the back stop bar are rigid mechanical members the space denedby the studs and the back stop bar is always proportional mathematicallyto the distance between the two studs I3, I3. Thus it is apparent thatthis invention can be used for locating any article, no matter what itssize, in the same relative position with respect to the supportingmember.

Fig. 3 shows a shoe sole that has been inserted in the apparatus of thisinvention and acted upon by a die member (Fig. 2) to form grooves Sil.Due to the centering action of the apparatus described in thisapplication the grooves 3ft will always be produced in the same relativeregion of the shoe sole 29 no matter how much the individual soles mayvary in size.

The invention has been described in considerable detail as applied tocentering middle soles for platform type sandals preparatory to actingthereon by a grooving die but it will be appreciated that the principlesherein described may be used in other apparatus of like nature forlocating other articles with respect to a supporting member. Alsonumerous variations and modifications may be made in details of thespecific apparatus hereinabove described without departing from thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for locating individual shoe sole members of a series ofvariedly sized, shaped, or sized and shaped shoe sole members withreference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising at least onemovable locating member for laterally locating the shoe sole member anda second movable locating member for longitudinally locating the shoesole member, one of said locating members being movable by a boundarysurface of the shoe sole member and the other of said locating membersbeing movable by movement of the rst locating member, said movablemembers locating the individual shoe sole members in the same relativeposition with respect to a given area of the supporting member.

2. Apparatus for locating individual shoe sole members of a series ofvariedly sized, shaped, or sized and shaped shoe sole members withreference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising at least onemovable locating member movable by a boundary surface of the shoe solemember being located for laterally locating the shoe sole member, and asecond movable member movable by the movement of the rst movable memberfor longitudinally locating the shoe sole member, said movable memberslocating the individual shoe sole members in the same relative positionwith respect to a given area of the supporting member.

3. Apparatus for locating individual articles of a series of variedlysized, shaped, or sized and shaped articles, such as shoe soles, withreference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising a pair ofmovable locating members movable by boundary surfaces of the individualarticle being located, a third movable locating member, and meanscontrolled by movement of said pair of movable locating members fordetermining the position of said third movable locating member, saidthree movable locating members locating the individual articles in thesame relative position with respect to a given area of the supportingmember.

4. Apparatus for locating individual articles of a series of variedlysized, shaped, or sized and shaped articles, such as shoe soles, withreference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising a pair oflocating members movably supported by the supporting member for movementtoward and away from each other, a third locating member movablysupported by the supporting member for movement transverse to thedirection of movement of the pair of locating members, and meanscontrolled by movement of said pair of locating members for determiningthe position of said third locating member, said three movable locatingmembers locating the individual articles in the same relative positionwith respect t0 a given area of the supporting member.

5. Apparatus for locating individual articles of a series of variedlysized, shaped, or sized and shaped articles, such as shoe soles, withreference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising a pair ofmovable locating members supported by the supporting member for movementtoward and away from each other, means for normally holding said pair oflocating members in close relation to each other, a third movablelocating member supported by the supporting member for movementtransverse to the direction of movement of the pair of locating members,and means controlled by movement of said pair of locating members fordetermining the position of said third locating member, said threemovable locating members locating the individual articles in the samerelative position with respect to a given area of the supporting member.

6. Apparatus for centering a succession of shoe soles or the like withreference to a device acting thereon, said apparatus comprising asurface for supporting a shoe sole in position to be acted on by thedevice and a plurality of movable locating members associated with thesaid surface for properly positioning a shoe sole placed thereon, atleast one of said locating members being movable by engagementJ With anedge portion of the sole and a second one of said locating membersadapted to engage a different edge portion of the sole being movable inresponse to movement of the rst said member, the apparatus being soconstructed and arranged that the ratio of the movement of one of saidlocating members to the other said locating member is the same as theratio of planar dimensions of the sole taken along diierent linespassing through the points of engagement with the respective locatingmembers.

'7. Apparatus for centering a succession of shoe soles or the like withreference to a device acting thereon, said apparatus comprising asurface for supporting a shoe sole in position to be acted I,

on by the device and a plurality of movable locating members associatedwith the said surface for properly positioning a shoe sole insertedbetween said members on said surface, said plurality of locating membersincluding two spacedapart members adaptedY to engage opposite sideportions of the sole and to be moved by engagement with such sideportions of the sole and a third locating member adapted to engage anend-portion of the sole to limit insertion oi the sole, and meansoperatively coupling the end engaging locating member With at least oneof the side engaging locating members for moving the said members withrespect to each other in the same relation as the relation of the widthof the shoe sole to its length.

8. Apparatus for locating individual articles of a series of variedlysized, shaped, or sized and shaped articles, such as shoe sole members,with reference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising atleast three movable locating members, and means controlled by movementof one of the locating members for determining the position of the otherlocating members, said movable locating members locating the individualarticles in the same relative position with respect to a given area ofthe supporting member.

9. Apparatus for locating individual articles of a series of variedlysized, shaped, or sized and shaped articles, such as shoe sole members,with reference to a supporting member, said apparatus comprising atleast three movable locating members interconnected for movement inunison so that movement of one locating member determines the positionof the others, said movable locating members locating the individualarticles in the same relative position with respect to a given area ofthe supporting member.

10. Apparatus for centering a succession of shoe sole members withreference to a device acting thereon, said apparatus comprising asupporting surface for receiving a sole member, a pair of bell crankspivotally mounted for movement generally parallel to the said surfaceand so that one arm of each bell crank engages a different side boundaryportion of the sole member inserted therebetween, the other arms of thebell cranks being arranged in overlapping relation and loosely pivotedtogether in a zone centrally located With respect to the sole centeringarms, yielding means normally urging the sole centering arms together, athird member adapted to engage an end boundary portion of the shoe solemember, and linkage means connecting the said third member With theoverlapped arms of the bell crank so that all three sole engaging meansmove in unison in response to insertion of a sole therebetween.

JOHN H, FLINK.

